This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/859,245 filed May 16, 2001, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CREATING A DIGITAL PROJECT LOG,” which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/713,487 filed Nov. 15, 2000, now abandoned entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROJECT LOG STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL.”
This invention relates broadly to the field of communications, and more particularly to a communication system and method for originating, storing, and delivering data.
Communication systems are used in a wide variety of data storage and retrieval applications. Some of these applications include data log systems, wireless dictation, voice mail and messaging systems, and network storage applications. Communication systems employing networked communication devices have largely supplanted traditional hardcopy file systems and note-taking techniques. The shortcomings of these and other traditional techniques are well-known: they are tedious, difficult to organize and comprehend, easily misplaced, and hard to secure.
However, some conventional communication systems have their own limitations. One example is the use of a recording device to memorialize an observation or event. The recording device may be a tape recorder or a video recorder, where the recording preserves a monitoring person's observations on a recording medium such as a cassette tape, microcassette, or video cassette. The recording medium can be lost or otherwise inaccessible. If it is accessible, it is usually accessible to only one user or otherwise limited to a small number of persons who must each maintain a copy. The copies are also difficult to reproduce and distribute effectively. Further, recordings are difficult to compile in a way that the recording media can be arranged in some logical, easily retrievable order.
Additional problems exist with conventional data storage or recording mechanisms for keeping records. One additional problem relates to control of the data. A voice mail system, for example, stores messages from a sender, but the sender relinquishes complete control of the messages to either a recipient or a third party over whom the sender has no control. Without adequate controls, data integrity and security can be lost.
Another additional problem is complexity. Again, using voice mail as an example, the sender must first dial a long telephone number, and then usually has to navigate to a storage location by keying in many more numbers or access codes. Each keystroke requires time and concentration, and as such diminishes the likelihood of successfully reaching a destination.
One further problem with conventional communication systems is the ease with which data can be delivered once it has been received and stored. There are many techniques and platforms for communicating data, however conventional techniques and platforms lack end-to-end security while still allowing automated delivery. Further, most systems are non-scalable, and cannot support a large number of users and/or recipients.
What is needed is a system and method of originating, processing and storing message data that is secure and easy to use, yet which leverages existing network architectures for efficient and effective delivery of message data to intended recipients.